01 January 2025, Volume 24 Issue 1

  

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  From Commonplace to Collective ″Complicity″: On Silence as an Intermediate State

  ZHAO Jingrong

  2025, 24(1): 5-13.

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  Silence is an intermediate state and daily experience, which has an important influence on our social life. In daily life, the intermediate state of silence is specifically manifested in the mediocre and average world of ″ordinary people″, and its subject is the ″silent majority″. The intermediate state of silence, formed by the cooperation of all individuals, is a kind of collective tacit understanding and relational orientation. It is a behavior of ″complicity″, which reflects the relationship between people that is coordinated rather than isolated, negotiated rather than directive, and consensual rather than authoritarian. Silence as an intermediate state is transformable. ″Complicit silence″ not only endows the group a certain degree of stability and security, but also implies the possibility of breaking the silence.
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  Silence and the ″Public″ Expression of Modern Peasants

  FENG Xiaocai

  2025, 24(1): 14-24.

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  In traditional Chinese society, ordinary villagers were extensively involved in local community affairs, and the term ″public″ held practical significance, yet they typically did not engage in external political matters. During the late Qing Dynasty and the early Republic of China, political transformations awakened new-style scholars and political figures, who then emphasized the populace's responsibilities towards the nation. As the relationship between the people and the state was redefined, the traditional detachment of rural people from the government was challenged, and their accustomed silence was frequently attacked. In the early years of the Republic of China, there was an imbalance between the old and new systems; people nominally had rights but lacked substantive channels for political participation. However, when personal or community interests were threatened, they expressed their demands in various forms. After the establishment of the Nanjing government, the government increased the burden on the populace, which led to a sharp increase in conflicts between officials and the people and more intense expressions of people's demands. At the same time, the Kuomintang's relationship with grassroots people was distant, but its power seeped into local communities, causing political unrest and a drastic change in the traditional public participation patterns of rural villagers.
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  ″Even though you don't Say it, we Still Get it″: How is Public Tacit Communication Possible?

  QIN Lanjun

  2025, 24(1): 25-33.

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  Public life in the digital age does not occur solely through ″public discussion″. Under certain conditions, silent communication is more effective in assuming the function of public life than public discussion. This communication regarding public affairs, either by ″remaining silent″ or ″not being explicit″, constitutes ″public tacit communication″. ″Public tacit communication″ is underpinned by China's unique linguistic and cultural concepts and social-historical forms. The reason why people can communicate through silence and reach a consensus in public tacit communication is that there is a common life world and shared bodily experiences ensuring the meaning. In the age of information explosion, public tacit communication, through silence and omission, reveals the dialectical movement between speaking and silence, expression and non-expression. It offers us a glimpse, within an ironic tension, of the possibilities created by language and public life at their boundaries.
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  Intelligent Historiography: Empirical Research of Historical Materials and Academic Verification with the Support of Digital Technology

  ZHU Benjun

  2025, 24(1): 34-43.

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  Artificial intelligence has shown great potential in enhancing historical research. However, it currently faces challenges related to insufficient professionalism, low reliability and credibility, as well as inadequate explainability and traceability. Under the guidance of new propositions such as all-source literature, computability, final full texts, and evidence-based traceability, the establishment of a digital infrastructure for ″intelligent historiography″ is imperative. This infrastructure facilitates a comprehensive evidence chain through bidirectional tracing of ″bibliographic catalog — digital objects — final texts — knowledge bases — knowledge linkages,″ which can effectively address the aforementioned challenges associated with AI's integration into historical research. Furthermore, this development has the potential to transform the traditional paradigm that posits historians must first become adept in the collection and organization of materials and then become scholars who can control documents. With the support of digital technology, both ″historical material collation″ and ″historical research″ will evolve toward greater specialization, seeming like there is a ″transparent membrane″ boundary between the two that is visible yet without necessitating for direct penetration into each other's domains. This will collectively promote the advancement of historical research.
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  Innovation within Tradition: On the Aid of Digital Humanities to Traditional Textual Research of Classics and Histories

  WANG Hongzhi

  2025, 24(1): 44-53.

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  The traditional methods of textual criticism in classical Chinese studies have developed over a period of thousands of years, covering multiple aspects such as philology and linguistics, and have especially formed profound academic accumulations in fields like terminology, phonology, exegesis, and textual collation. New tools provided by digital humanities, such as digitization of ancient books, text mining, Geographic Information System (GIS) technology, and network analysis techniques, can further improve the efficiency and breadth of traditional research. The contemporary disciplinary direction of digital humanities also lies on the historical extension line of textual research on classics and histories. New technology does not mean discarding tradition. The methods of textual research on classics and histories have always contained the demand for ″data-processing″ since the earliest sentence-analysis, lexicography, and bibliography. The application of computer technology can be an iterative upgrade of traditional research methods. To prevent digital humanities from becoming a superficial and ″hollow″ technology, it is necessary to deepen the understanding of traditional research methods in humanities and make the technology truly serve research.
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  The Transformation of Aesthetics Research in the Song Dynasty: Concepts, Horizons, and Approaches

  ZHANG Fa

  2025, 24(1): 54-63.

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  The studies of aesthetic in Song Dynasty is undergoing transformation based on three paradigms. There are three major driving forces for the transformation of Song-Dynasty aesthetics: the changing multi-ethnic Chinese circle from the Five Dynasties to the Song Dynasty, the newly-emerged urban mass culture in the Song Dynasty, and the new type of scholar-gentry group that emerged during the Song Dynasty. The aesthetics of the Song Dynasty was mainly centered around the scholar-gentry. The aesthetics of the scholar-gentry has three particularly remarkable aspects. First, among the urban scholar-officials, an elegant art system of scholar-gentry courtyards emerged. Second, the group of scholar-gentry who emphasized literature, through interaction with the imperial painting academy, developed the art philosophy of literati painting. Third, among the scholar-gentry who failed to obtain imperial examination degrees, some of them, as they spread to various social strata, entered and developed the urban performing aesthetics system. If we view the transformation of Song-Dynasty aesthetics from the perspective of Chen Yinque's view of the Song-dynasty culture reaching its ″pinnacle″, Song-Dynasty Ci, as the core of this ″pinnacle″, has a leading role in influencing the transformation of Song-Dynasty aesthetics research.
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  An Analysis of the Foci, Transformation, and Expansion in Song-Dynasty Aesthetics Research from Data

  MAO Changsen, LIN Hualin

  2025, 24(1): 64-76.

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  Research on Song-Dynasty aesthetics holds a crucial position within the overall framework of Chinese aesthetic history. It has long been centered on the beauty of art.However, in the past decade or so, it has gradually broken through this research pattern and moved towards a more diversified and interconnected research model that is more in line with the original appearance of Chinese aesthetics. The changes in Song-Dynasty aesthetics research are reflected not only in the expansion of art-aesthetics research within the original structure but also in the proposal of associated aesthetics with Song-Dynasty characteristics, such as scholar-gentry aesthetics and life aesthetics. According to recent data, in the past more than ten years, Song-Dynasty aesthetics, which has shifted from being art-centered to being life-oriented and associated with various aspects of culture, is under construction. Two important new research topics among them are ″festivals and celebrations of the year″ and ″performances of skills and arts″. From the analysis of existing research, the aesthetics of festivals and celebrations of the year should develop a three-dimensional and systematic aesthetic research on the basis of cultural, documentary, and literary research. The aesthetics of performances of skills and arts needs to improve the research on the art departments of opera, acrobatics, and vernacular story-telling novels to restore and present the overall appearance and aesthetic features of Song-Dynasty performances of skills and arts. The transformation of Song-Dynasty aesthetics research is part of the overall transformation of Chinese aesthetics research, and the diversified and interconnected research model will present the unique and rich features of Chinese aesthetics.
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  The Aesthetic Features of ″Scholar-tea″ in the Song Dynasty: Environment, Techniques, and Concepts

  LI Xiang

  2025, 24(1): 77-87.

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  In the Song Dynasty, scholars were the principal part of tea culture, and the aesthetic features of ″scholar-tea″ thus became the optimal representation of tea aesthetics. The appreciation environments of ″scholar-tea″ mainly consist of four categories: feasts and banquets, courtyards and pavilions, imperial courts, and mountain-forest monasteries, with their aesthetic traits being jubilant and colorful, leisurely and elegant, exquisite and noble, and pure and delightful respectively. The appreciation techniques of ″scholar-tea″ include Jiancha, which adheres to simplicity and is imbued with an ancient charm, Diancha, which pursues delicacy and has superb color, aroma, and taste, and Tocha and Fencha, which value the beauty of competition and performance. Among them, Jiancha emphasizes ″thriftiness″, Diancha emphasizes ″elegance″, and Tōcha and Fencha emphasize ″amusement″, jointly constituting the appreciation concept of ″scholar-tea″. Influenced by the aesthetic tastes of the court and the common people, Song-Dynasty scholars incorporated the refined beauty of the court and the popular beauty of the common people into the traditional thrifty ideology, jointly shaping the diverse and unique aesthetic style of ″scholar-tea″.
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  The Aesthetic Meanings of Scholar's Gardens in the Northern Song Dynasty

  LI Changshu

  2025, 24(1): 88-96.

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  In the Northern Song Dynasty, most scholars were comprehensive talents with multiple identities such as literati, scholars, and politicians. As officials, most of them cherished the ideal of helping the world and shared the sentiment of worrying before others and enjoying pleasures later. However, when such ideals were implemented in reality, they often got trapped in officialdom struggles. Therefore, they aspired to build a private space outside the officialdom to resolve the contradiction between entering and leaving officialdom and obtain peace and freedom of body and mind. The functions of literati and scholars were fully exerted, and the prosperity of literature and art in the Northern Song Dynasty was closely related to this. Gardens were one of them. Firstly, gardens could be regarded as personal nature outside the officialdom, where scholars could gain the joy of freedom. Secondly, gardens were constructed in a freehand manner, and the tastes of literati were reflected everywhere. Thirdly, through the construction and appreciation of gardens, scholars achieved identity recognition. Aesthetically speaking, gardens played multiple roles in the lives of scholars. Cultural activities such as poetry and prose creation, and appreciation of calligraphy and painting not only demonstrated the cultural literacy and aesthetic tastes of scholars but also became an important part of their social interactions. More importantly, gardens were the tools for scholars to construct their identity and social status. By creating and experiencing these private spaces, scholars shaped and disseminated an elite culture and led the aesthetic trends at a broader social level.
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  Wang Meng and 19th Century Russian Literature

  LI Jianjun

  2025, 24(1): 97-106.

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  Wang Meng often talks about 19th century Russian literature, but there are many misunderstandings and estrangements. The reason for this is that his rational considerations and values are misaligned. He lacks emotional identification and value understanding of 19th century Russian literature. His ″Crucifixion″ is a dialogue with the great writers of 19th century Russia on the level of faith, but it reflects the spiritual alienation and dissonance between them. Wang Meng's latest works identify the ″pathological″ view of 19th century Russian literature because, even in his old age, he is still a spiritual ″outsider″ to Tolstoy and others.
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  Historiography of Modern and Contemporary Classical Style Chinese Literature: Problems and Solutions

  LI Yuchun

  2025, 24(1): 107-118.

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  Since the beginning of the new century, the binary opposition between new and old in the study of modern and contemporary Chinese literature has been gradually dissipated, and modern and contemporary classical style Chinese literature, represented by classical style poetry, has increasingly received academic attention. Many works on the history of modern and contemporary Chinese literature have begun to attempt to integrate classical style literature into the narrative of literary history as a whole. Since historiography is the foundation of history, it is necessary to establish the historiography of modern and contemporary classical style Chinese literature as a prerequisite for compiling a history of modern and contemporary classical style Chinese literature. The existing historiography of modern and contemporary Chinese literature mainly refers to the historiography of new literature. Only by establishing a relatively complete historiography of classical style literature, combining old and new, can the historiography of modern and contemporary Chinese literature be worthy of its name. The history materials of modern and contemporary classical style literature can be roughly divided into social life materials centered on writers, such as writer's chronology and chronicle, biography, memoirs, diaries, letters, etc.; literary creation materials centered on works, including historical materials of classical style poetry, classical style prose, classical style novels, and classical style drama; and literary communication and acceptance materials centered on readers, such as classical style literature materials carried by newspapers, books, salons, and the Internet. Only by properly recognizing the work of modern and contemporary classical style literature materials can we promote the transformation of modern and contemporary literary research from a new literary standard to a dual standard of new and old literature. In terms of the comprehensive application of classical philological methods for the study of historical materials of modern and contemporary classical style literature, the current application of compilation and annotation methods have achieved significant results, while there is still considerable academic space for the application of bibliography, textual criticism, collection, and discrimination methods, which can generate many academic growth points. Only by adhering to and promoting the traditional Chinese spirit of Pu Xue, and taking the path of socialization and modernization in historical materials work, can we push the emerging historiography of modern and contemporary Chinese classical style literature to new academic heights.
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  The Influence of Lu Xun's Shaoxing Growth Experience on his Dual Attitude towards Traditional Culture

  CAI Qiupei, SONG Jianhua

  2025, 24(1): 119-128.

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  Regarding the relationship between Lu Xun and traditional culture, more scholars believe that Lu Xun presented a dualistic attitude towards traditional culture. However, the analysis of Lu Xun's dualistic attitude towards traditional culture in academia has mostly focused on his later period and relatively overlooked the analysis of his early stages. In fact, during Lu Xun's growth in Shaoxing, due to his dualistic experience of reading cultural classics and other works at home and in private schools, the different influences of people around him who were immersed in traditional culture on Lu Xun, and Lu Xun's perception of the negativity and deceptive aspects of traditional culture after family changes, coupled with the dual comprehension given to Lu Xun by Shaoxing customs, Lu Xun gradually showed a dual nature in his attitude towards traditional culture.
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  International Chinese Language Education Should Grasp Five ″Musts″

  LU Jianming

  2025, 24(1): 129-137.

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  The essence of international Chinese education is to build a ″Chinese language″ bridge to China for all countries in the world, promoting cultural communication, exchange and mutual learning. To ensure its steady, healthy, efficient and high-quality development, efforts must be made on many aspects, but priority should be given to five key ″musts″: clarifying the responsibilities and mission of international Chinese language education; placing a high priority on the teaching of written Chinese; entrusting local Chinese teachers with the primary teaching tasks in overseas international Chinese language education; implementing a ″digital″ transformation in international Chinese language education; and gradually developing the ″Chinese + X″ teaching model. These five ″musts″ underscore a fundamental principle: international Chinese language education should be academically driven, with research at the forefront, and should embody international consciousness, a global outlook, and a service-oriented mindset.
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  Language Planning and Ecolinguistics: Origins, Interfaces and Developments

  WANG Jinjun, HUANG Jinyi

  2025, 24(1): 138-147.

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  Language planning is a discipline that seeks to address the needs of nations and societies by regulating and optimizing languages. Ecolinguistics investigates the interplay among language users, languages and their environments. Language planning is grounded in language ecology, which is, in turn, greatly influenced by language planning itself. Nevertheless, their relationship remains unclear due to the lack of a systematic literature review. An integrative literature review spanning from the 1950s to the present can provide a comprehensive overview of the origins, interfaces and developments of language planning and ecolinguistics. The origins of both disciplines can be traced back to Einar Haugen, a Norwegian-American linguist, who coined the ecological concepts and tried to apply them into language planning. Since the mid-1980s, language planning has undergone an ″ecological turn″, with the emergence of metaphorical paradigm in ecolinguistics symbolizing the interface between language planning and ecolinguistics. From the 1990s to the present, the ″discursive turn″ in language planning and the rise of non-metaphorical paradigm in ecolinguistics signify a new trend in their mutual development. This evolution is expected to continue manifesting across various topics, including the assessments and planning of language ecology, the documentation of language resources, and the micro-analysis of policy discourse.
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  Research Paths of Ecological Discourse Analysis:An Outline

  HE Wei, LI Shujing

  2025, 24(1): 148-160.

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  Ecological Discourse Analysis, as one of the main research paradigms in the field of Ecolinguistics, has gradually gained acceptance in discourse studies focusing on ecological issues during its rise. Its research path implies three stages. Firstly, at the macro level, it clarifies the guiding ideology or the ecosophy for the judgment of the ecological orientation of discourse; secondly, at the meso and micro levels, it conducts discourse analysis to reveal the ecological orientation of discourse; thirdly, it proposes ecological suggestions to enhance people's ecological awareness, and to guide their ecological behavior. Given the current research status, in order to better promote ecological discourse analysis to serve ecological civilization education and construction, the academic community needs to strengthen the interpretation of guiding ideology and the exploration of relevant guidelines at the macro level, to enhance the reference and comprehensive application of interdisciplinary theoretical means and research methods at the meso and micro levels, and to pay more attention to the effectiveness and operability of ecological suggestions in specific practices.